American voters say 60 - 33 percent that the U.S. Senate should ratify the nuclear disarmament
treaty President Barack Obama recently signed with Russia, according to a Quinnipiac University
poll released today.

Voters support 70 - 28 percent the U.S. and Russia working to eliminate all nuclear
weapons in the world, but they say 87 - 11 percent that such a goal is not realistic. And voters
say 25 - 18 percent that Obama's nuclear policy increases, rather than decreases, the chance of
nuclear war, while 47 percent say the nuclear policy doesn't make a difference.

"American voters like the dream of a world without nuclear weapons, but they believe it
is just that - a dream," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University
Polling Institute. "They agree with many elements of President Barack Obama's nuclear policy
and they want the Senate to ratify the latest arms reduction treaty with Russia.

"But very few voters believe any of this makes the world any safer," Brown added.

American voters approve 48 - 42 percent of the way Obama is handling foreign policy
and approve 49 - 39 percent of the way he is handling the situation in Afghanistan. The U.S. is
doing the right thing fighting in Afghanistan, voters say 56 - 36 percent, and eliminating the
threat of terrorists operating from Afghanistan is a worthwhile goal for American troops to fight
and possibly die for, voters say 61 - 31 percent.

The one negative area in voter appraisal of Obama's foreign policy is that voters
disapprove 44 - 35 percent of the way the President is handling the situation between Israel and
the Palestinians. Jewish voters, generally supportive of Obama on other issues, turn 67 - 28
percent thumbs down on his handling of Israel and the Palestinians.

American voters say 57 - 13 percent that their sympathies lie with Israel and say 66 - 19
percent that the President of the United States should be a strong supporter of Israel.

But voters say 42 - 34 percent that Obama is not a strong supporter of Israel.

Only 16 percent of Republicans and 33 percent of independents think the President is a
strong supporter of Israel, while 53 percent of Democrats do. The wealthier and older the voter,
the more likely they are to question Obama's support for Israel. And the racial gap is yawning: 31
percent of white voters, but 54 percent of black voters see him as a strong supporter of Israel.

"While 50 percent of Jews see Obama as a strong supporter of Israel, only 23 percent of
Protestants and 35 percent of Roman Catholics see it that way," Brown said. "One explanation
may just be that the President's low overall approval among Protestants and Catholics contributes
to this disparity."

From April 14 - 19, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,930 registered voters nationwide
with a margin of error of +/- 2.2 percentage points.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the
nation as a public service and for research.
For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or
follow us on Twitter.

6. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling - foreign
policy?

43. As you may know, President Obama and Russia's President recently signed a
new nuclear disarmament treaty. The United States and Russia are each pledging
to reduce their nuclear arms by a third. Do you think the United States Senate
should ratify this treaty, or not?

44. Suppose the United States and Russia could agree to eliminate all nuclear
weapons and get other nations that have them to do the same. Would you approve
or disapprove of the elimination of all nuclear weapons?